New airlines set for 'opening' Mozambique market

Mozambique's regulatory authority Mozambique Civil Aviation Authority (MCAA) has given the go-ahead for three new airlines to apply for AOCs and all three are getting ready for operations

The three companies include a dedicated helicopter operation based in Maputo while the other were named as Fly Africa and MAIS.

FlyAfrica.com’s parent company is based in Mauritius with operating companies already underway in Zimbabwe and Namibia. After Mozambique, the airline is eyeing opportunities for its fleet of Boeing B737 aircraft in Gabon too.

MAIS (Mozambique Air Services) has initial plans to serve Beira, Nampula, Pemba, and Tete out of Maputo, using a number of Airbus A320 for operations.. The airline has plans to expand regionally to destinations such as Johannesburg, Lusaka, Lubumbashi, and even Nairobi.

MCAA’s CEO Joao de Abreu said there were no clear timelines for either airline to complete the process to attain an AOC, pre-requisite to commence flight operations. He said the government was hopeful that the airlines would utilise smaller aircraft to reach domestic airports in more remote parts of the country, and said if they didn’t, other new airlines could enter the country’s register.

This supports announcements made earlier in the week by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Carlos Mesquita who said Mozambique is open to the entry of new private air operators, national or foreign, provided that they follow Mozambican legislation for that purpose.

Regarding the European ban on the national flag carrier, LAM, Carlos Mesquita said that the concern of Mozambique is not only to fly to Europe, but also to guarantee greater security for passengers at national and regional level. Once this stage is reached then the ability to grow by flying to other destinations will follow.

“ We will continue to work to clean up our image because we will not allow that it is negatively exposed in the market. The approval of aviation regulations by the Council of Ministers is a contributor to this end. It is another tool that will allow us to get out of this situation," said Mesquita.

Lockheed Martin reached a major milestone with the delivery of its 400th C-130J Super Hercules aircraft on Feb. 9. This Super Hercules is an MC-130J Commando II Special Operations aircraft that is assigned to the U.S. Air Force’s Special